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Security of "Web 2.0"

Ok, so for those that haven't heard yet the concept of web 2.0 is to go back to a system of smart mainframes with all your apps and data and using only a dumb terminal. I basically want to hear people's views on the idea.

A live example is of course google docs and spreadsheets.

The pros as far as I'm concerned are:
* Documents are available anywhere on any pc
* All pcs in a network are always running the same version

Cons:
* Performance depends on how many other people in the world are doing the same thing
* A system with more users is inherently less secure.
* Any breach of security will allow access to a LOT more data than storing on local workstations or local networks.

OK, my personal experience is restricted to thin client deployments. All I sense here is a liberal spreading of BS. Sure the trend will be to provide more comprehensive and possibly sophisticated web services, but that is only a fraction of computing.

the concept of web 2.0 is to go back to a system of smart mainframes with all your apps and data and using only a dumb terminal

Resistance from consumers, a fair proportion of whom have difficulty with what they have already.

Resistance from hardware and software manufacturers

To name but a few

If you cannot do someone any good: don't do them any harm....
As long as you did this to one of these, the least of my little ones............you did it unto Me.
What profiteth a man if he gains the entire World at the expense of his immortal soul?

Ard- Web2.0 is really just a marketting phrase meant to imply that you are getting a richer experience from a web page than you would have 5 years ago... Server side apps brought about through AJAX is a hallmark of what people call web2.0 but I've never heard of web2.0 encompassing a switch to thin clients.

Of course, if you ask 10 different people what web2.0 means you will get 10 different answers. The main reason I try to avoid the term..

As an example ebay, flicker, craigslist, and wikipedia are considered web2.0 sites. None of those involve thin clients or anything of the like.